The Dance

Remembering

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with the owners of, Danny Phantom

Sam walked sleepily and sadly to school on Monday. Danny was nowhere to be seen, and she hadn't talked to Night since Saturday. Tucker had gotten to school early so that he could use the computer lab.

"Sam!" Sam turned to see Danny running happily toward her. Sam smiled; his mood was infectious. Danny stopped just short of his friend, frowning. "Are you okay? You look like you paid some goon to run you over in a monster truck."

"Gee, thanks," Sam replied dryly. "I've just had a bad weekend. And to make it worse, Night hasn't called or messaged me since Saturday..."

"Do you remember anything from Saturday?" Danny asked nervously. Sam couldn't imagine why he was so twitchy.

"No," she replied simply. "I only remember that stupid argument, going to the park with Night, and then waking up at about eight o'clock at night with what felt like a hangover." Danny, to Sam's amazement, let out a sigh of relief.

"Danny," she said dangerously, glaring at him, "What are you not telling me?"

Danny simply shrugged and continued into the school- where he stopped in his tracks.

Sam ran into him, and yelped. "Danny, why are you just standing there?" Inching around him, Sam glared at Danny for a moment, then rolled her eyes and looked inside. And also stopped in her tracks.

The whole school was being overrun by bright pink, yellow, and green posters. Grabbing one off of the row of lockers nearest them, Sam read it, then handed it to Danny, rolling her eyes again. Danny read it and grinned.

"How perfect," he murmured, smiling widely. "This has to be the best idea they've had yet." Sam laughed, despite the fact that she found it to be a stupid idea.

The poster read:

It's Ghost-hunting season!!!

It's also time to have fun! Summer's almost over, and school's already begun.

To celebrate the two events, our high school will be hosting a Ghostly Summer Dance.

It will be held in the school gymansium on Friday, August 15, from 7-10 P.M.

This dance is classified as formal costume, so find your best costume! Prizes will be given out.

What's an easier way to show your ghostly spirit?

Sam waited patiently for Danny to stop laughing. Once he did, she balled the flyer up and threw it in a trashcan.

"Ohh, I can't wait!" Danny said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Can you believe it? I suppose that's one way to interepret the haunting of your town... Instead of cowering in fear, let's party!" Danny laughed some more, then sighed contentedly. "This'll be so entertaining."

Sam shook her head, giggling. "Well, I hope you enjoy yourself." Danny frowned.

"You mean you're not going?" Danny asked. Sam thought she caught a hint of disappointment in his tone, but said nothing about it.

"It's a Friday, Danny," Sam explained slowly. "I can't go. I have a date."

"I thought Night hasn't talked to you," Danny said suspiciously.

"He hasn't, but the rules are that I have to have a date every Friday until I get a boyfriend, remember?"

Danny sighed. "Well, then, invite your date to the dance." Sam frowned.

"I hadn't thought of that," she murmured. "That's an idea." Danny nodded enthusiastically.

"But what if Night doesn't want to come?"

Danny stopped to turn and look at her. "You're still going out with him?" Sam was even more shocked to see that Danny was angry now.

"Um, yes?" Sam replied meekly. "I mean, he seems to really like me, and I really, really like him..."

Danny just grumbled something unintelligible and stalked off to class. Sam shook her head in confusion and followed.

That night Danny was sitting at his computer as he came up with the perfect idea. Well, he liked Sam, right? And she had to date a guy every Friday until she found a boyfriend... so why not date him? Smiling softly, Danny went to the website Sam had told him she had joined for the dating service. The System. As he was trying to think of a good name that wouldn't give himself away, he got an instant message.

darkprincess: Danny? You okay?

dPhantom: Huh? Oh, yeah, why?

darkprincess: You've been really stressed out lately. I just thought...

dPhantom: You started it. What did you think?

darkprincess: I was just wondering... if it's Night. You know, if you're not ready for me to date... We've been friends for a really long time...

dPhantom: Is that it? No, Sam, I'm fine with you dating... I just really don't like Night.

darkprincess: You've only spoken to him once!

dPhantom: Well...

darkprincess: Spit it out, Danny.

dPhantom: I don't know. I just don't like him.

darkprincess: Okay. Well, I've got to go- my mom's calling me for dinner. I'll see you at school tomorrow.

dPhantom: Alright, see you later.

darkprincess has signed off

Danny went back to the dating service page. It was pink. Very pink. He hoped he could change that. Finally, he decided on the username Ace. Simple, and something he normally wouldn't use. Just right. Then he spent the next fifteen minutes filling out a seemingly useless survey. He answered them all truthfully, in case they did matter, and then decided to get off for a while. After, of course, looking at Sam's profile and changing the color settings. No more pink.

When he came back two hours later to check on it, he discovered that there were already about six messages waiting for him. One from BFluffy, Wintermoon, Litemicandle, Dancing Diva, Hansel, and Lovemetender each. Danny simply deleted them all and logged off again.

The next few days passed in a blur, but yet again it was Thursday evening, and Danny was anxious.

"Hey, Sam," he whispered in the middle of math class, "Have you talked to Night?"

Sam sighed. "No," she replied miserably. "I miss him... But I have to go on a date tomorrow, so I'm dating some random guy named Asylum. That's his screen name, anyway; his real name is Alex."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Danny said. He didn't mean it, and they both knew it.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and several screams from outside. Looking out the window, Danny saw Night in the school's yard, smiling as he blasted tables and trashcans into oblivion. Anxiously, Danny looked for Sam, but she was stuck behind a crowd and couldn't see out. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to a nearby closet, locking her in it.

"Hey!" Sam shrieked. "Danny!" Danny went invisible and slipped into the closet with her.

"Listen, Sam," Danny whispered quickly, covering her mouth with his hand. "There's something I need to tell you, but now's not the time. Just don't forget and remind me later, and I'll tell you, I swear, okay? But right now is not the time, and I don't want you to find out this way. So stay here, stay safe, and I'll come back for you!" Danny uncovered her mouth andwent ghost, then tried to leave. But Sam had a hold of his wrist.

"Danny, what if you forget about me?" Sam asked nervously. "What if you don't come back for me?"

Danny smiled and took her hand to pry it from his wrist. Giving it a quick squeeze, he replied confidently, "I'll never forget you, Sam; I'll always come back." And then he was gone. Sam just sat in the closet silently as she'd been told, listening to the shrieks going on outside. After a while there was a great booming laughter that sounded oddly familiar, though Sam couldn't quite place it. Then an angry shout that she recognized as Danny, and after a few minutes a ringing silence.

Then a shout so loud and terrible that Sam covered her ears, but to no avail; she still heard the words. And then all was deathly silent on the outside. On the inside, Sam's brain was repeating those shouted words over and over: "I'll have her again, you just wait, Danny Phantom!"

Sam was stil curled up in a ball when Danny found her. He unlocked the door and entered, hot and tired, and collapsed on the floor beside her. Sam sat up and was surprised to discover that she was sitting beside Danny Phantom, not Danny Fenton.

"Danny?" Sam whispered. "You're still ghost!"

Danny sighed and took an effort to become human again, then sat up shakily and leaned against the wall.

"Sorry," he replied breathlessly. "I'm just... really... tired." Sam nodded understandingly.

"Danny..." Sam said nervously, twisting her fingers, "Is there any way... that a, um, you know, ghost... could make you forget things? Like, make your brain all muddled and fuzzy? Just maybe?"

Danny looked at her seriously.

"I think..." Sam whispered, "that was... Night, wasn't it?"

Danny nodded gently.

"Ah."

And then Sam started crying.

"Sam, can you remember everything now?" Danny asked anxiously. "I need to know what happened."

"Yes, Danny, I remember all of it!" Same sobbed. "I'm so sorry!"

And then she told him.